We are requesting a Zeiss Sigma HV field emission scanning electron microscope for the Electron Microscopy Core Facility (EMCF) at UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, TX. The EMCF is a campus-wide, institutionally supported, fee for service facility that provides electron microscopy services for basic and clinical science investigators at UT Southwestern. Currently, there is no scanning electron microscope on the UT Southwestern campus, and investigators are obliged to obtain this type of data through cumbersome off campus collaborations. Acquisition of the Sigma HV will enable the health related research of 10 major users and 4 minor users, and in the long term will have an even broader impact on the research infrastructure at UT Southwestern. Among other projects, the requested microscope will be used to study the origin and regulation of neuroendocrine cancers, mechanisms of wound healing, the causes of pre- term birth, the origin and treatment of kidney disease, the mode of infection by cell- invasive bacteria, and the causes of inflammatory bowel disease. In addition, several projects involve the characterization of the structure and bio-interactions of nanofabricated materials intended for drug delivery and other uses in vivo.